Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, is joining forces with the governments of Kebbi and Kaduna states and Bank of Industry to grab majority stake in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited.
Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna state governor, disclosed this at the launch of the youth empowerment scheme organised by the Bank of Industry.
El-Rifai was quoted by Reuters as saying: “We have submitted bids for the car maker with Aliko Dangote on board together with BoI, Kebbi and Kaduna state; we are confident our bid will sail through.”
Founded in 1972 in Nigeria, PAN is Nigeria’s leading indigenous automobile manufacturing company, and supplier of new generation, high-tech vehicles to African markets.
The governor said both state governments, along with development lender Bank of Industry (BoI) and Dangote, had formally expressed interest for the bids for which AMCON is looking to sell.
On May 1, 1971 under the military administration of Yakubu Gowon, Peugeot beat 16 reputable automakers to establish a vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria.
“Following the accumulation of huge non-performing loans (NPL) indebtedness to banks, in October 2012, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) acquired the debts of the company and converted a portion to equity to help restructure the firm,” Peugeot had said.
Upon completion, the deal is expected to overhaul the presence of PAN in Africa’s largest market.
